What to know before buying a felt cowboy hat, and answers to questions regarding my personal hats.
Part I (14:52 minutes)
Part II (11:55 minutes)
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I never have worried much about shaping my hats, they always seemed to do it themselves - I'm rough as hell on them.
I've got several beaters, and two nice ones that I never wear because I don't want to fuck them up. My nice 5x Stetson hasn't seen the light of day since my father's funeral 9 years ago this month, and that's the only time I've ever worn it - it's kept in a hat can on the top shelf of my closet. My nice 5x Resistol is hanging on my hat rack, but I don't believe I've worn it since moving to Tennessee.
Felt hats are too damned hot for a Louisiana summer. I normally bring out the felt when the temps get bellow 50F. Which ain't often. I normally buy a good straw hat once a year, normally inn April. My favorite is the Stetson Diamond Jim, and it's my go-to hat when I need a brimmed hat.
ReplyDeleteI agree, between the heat and high humidity down here felt hat's aren't the go to, straw, a canvas type or something that can wick the sweat away is more practical and comfortable here.
DeleteJD
Meh. I wore felt hats in 105 degree weather in California. No big deal.
ReplyDeleteI do have a beater Stetson similar to the Diamond Jack, but it's only got a 3 inch brim on it. Same style crown, though.
DeleteKenny the closer you get to the gulf the more brutal it becomes. Dead air and high humidity sucks ass. It's in the mid 90s in Alabama today with a heat index of 108. All that means is your ass is gonna sweat sitting in a chair in the shade. Shitty weather for a nice hat to get smoked and salt stained from sweat. Rooster
I've had a leather hat for 20 some years, my mom gave me for no apparent reason. It's bomb proof. I go hunting and fishing in the coastal rain with it. Never seemed too hot in hot weather, however, I wear a boonie hat when antelope hunting.
DeleteHeard from a Texas hat maker: The man who owns the cattle is he one wearing a Stetson. The men pushing the cattle wear Resistol.
ReplyDeleteTrue enough, but I have to say that a Stetson has a better fit for me than a Resistol. Maybe I just have a funny shaped head.
DeleteI have owned more Resistols than I have Stetsons, though - by a huge margin.
I live in Texas. Hot and humid. In Texas in the summer, you wear straw hats, cooler months, felt. Sun Body hats are the best straw hats I have ever worn. Comfortable, Reasonable prices, and they last. Check out sun body hats on the internet. I, being the outdoors type, cannot understand going outside without a hat. To each his own. All my hats are not Cowboy hats, most of my work hats are though.
ReplyDeleteMy Grandfather wore a Stetson every day.....started when he went bald at about age 22....after he died he had a brand new straw hat that went to me....I started wearing it and my uncle said I looked like an Oklahoma goat farmer....he never said that to his Daddy....Gramps woulda' kicked his ass....I just laughed it off....Grandpa was born in 1905....that generation was a bit tougher, I believe....
ReplyDeleteIn the summer I like my STRAW....Come to think of it I like it in the winter TO! BUT I do live in EAST TEXAS!
ReplyDeleteI swear by Australia's Akubra hats. Not as expensive as Stetsons, but well made and durable. My favorite is their Federation fedora. It's like an Indiana Jones hat but with a taller crown. I also have a black Snowy River cowboy hat, their Aussie military hat (the one with the left brim pinned to the crown) and a bowler and homburg. I've had the military one since my teens I don't wesr it real often) and the fedora for better than 20 years. (It's practically my everyday hat - even in the heat.) Treat the hat well and it'll last.
ReplyDeleteYes - Akubra's hats are excellent. I've owned them starting from about 40 years ago. Quality is top notch, and price is very good, comparatively speaking. I've always gotten mine from David Morgan Imports (which started out with a different name - Australasia Imports, I think). David has left this plane, but I met him several times in his store, and he was a great guy. He also made the whips used in the Indiana Jones movies, and published his own books on whip making and leather work.
DeleteKurt
My Dad wore one every day of his life nearly. Conducive to his jobs. When as a kid it was my job to bring down the hat boxes from the tiny attic in the spring and fall for the felt to straw rotation. I still miss him. He was born on the prairie now the oldest family owned ranch in Oklahoma not ours though. Grew up cowboy. A short drive from your family Ken. He quail hunted in his used hats, now my kids use them as home decor.
ReplyDelete